Improvement in magazine fire-arms



s --s 3 JOSEPH mum Magazine Fire Arms.

Patented August 15, 1871.

' 3 Sheets--Sheet 2.

JOSEPH RIDER.

Magazine Fire Arms.

No. 118,15 2. 35- J Patented August 15,1871.

3 Sheets--Sheet 3. I JOSEPH RIDER.

Magazine Fire Arms.

NO. 118,15 2. Ratented August 15, 1871.

'IIMIE lllllh 'ing the retraetor attached thereto.

elevation of the tumbler and a portion of the PATENT OFFICE.

.iosurn moon, on NnWAnK, onto.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAGAZINE FIRE-ARMS.

sluicilication ihrmingpart of Letters Patent No. 119,152, dated August15, 1871.

To all. whom it may concern:

.lic it known that l, JosErII RIDER, of' Newark, in the county ofLicking and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements inMagazinc'l ire-Al'ms; and I do hereby declare that the iollowing is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, rclerencc being had to tl aannexed drawin g making part of this specification, in which- Figure lis an elevation of a pistol having my improvements applied to it,showing the parts in the position which they assume when the arm isdischarged, it showing also the magazine for retaining the cartridgesand the aperture for loading through the stock orhandlc. .Fig. 2 is avertical central section, showing a charge in the barrel, the magazinefilled, and a charge in the carrier ready to be deposited in the barrel,tlmhreechpiece and hammer being in position for discharging by pullingthe trigger. central section, showing the expelled case, which has beendischarged, a fresh charge in the enrricr ready to be deposited in thebarrel, the hammer in its cocked position, and the breech-piece in itsreal-most or unlocked position. Fig. 4 is a vertical central section,showing a charge within the barrel, one in the carrier, and one in themagazine, .the hannner being in its cocked position and the breech-piecein its intermediatepm sition and in asstate of'rest, where it is held bypressing the trigger against it. Fig. 5 is aver-' tical central section,showing the position of-the' parts when the charges'are inserted throughthe stock or handlei Fig. (i is an elevation of the cartridge-carrier,showing also a portion ofthe stock,to which it is secured, the springwhich in part controls its movement, and the spring which? pressesagainst the rear charge inthe magazine. Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 areelevations-rear and top views ofthe breech-piece-Figs. 7 and 10 show-Fig. 11 is an hammer, the stirrup-lever, the stirrup, and the mainsprmg.Fig. 12 is a rear view of a portion of the hammer, the breech-piece, thestirruplever, and the stirrup, and the pin or fulcrum upon which thehammer and breech-piece turn. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of themainspring, showing its construction, Fig. 14 is a vertical section onlineg y of Fig. 15, showing the trigger and sear. Figs. 15 and 16' areelevations of the trigger and scar, and showing how they are ar- Fig. 3is a vertical ranged with reference to each other. Fig. 17 is a rearview of the same. Fig. 18 is a side view of the hammer and of the sear,showing the construction of each and their arrangement withrcfercncc toeach other, the dotted lines showing the-lntnnncr in its cockedposition, where it is held by the scar. a: of Fig. la. Figs. 20 and 21are side views of the hammer and breech-piece, showing their acrangementwith reference to each other. Fig. 22 is a view, partly in elevation andpartly in section, of the magazine, it being shown as filled withcartridges. Fig. 235 is a section ofthemag' azinc and a portion oi thearnnshowingthe telescope-tube drawn out and the cartridge being in--sertcd.

(ioi-rcs mmling letters refer to corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention relates to magazine and breechloading fire-arms; and itconsists in the'constr'uction, immbination, and arrangement of some ofthe parts of which it is composed, as will he more fully explainedhereinafter.

in constructing pistols with my improvements connected therewith I usefor the stock or handle a frame-work, A, of metal or other suitablesubstance, of the form shown in the drawing or of any other form adaptedto receive and hold in position the "parts which. to be attache'dto it.I preter,.-however, to construct this frame substantially as shown inthe drawing, as it atfords the means of readily securing in position themainspring by inserting it in a groove in the rear end thereof, and italso furnishes-the means 'for holding the carrier which carries thecharges.

from the magazine to the barrel in positiomthis being effected bythe'curved bar or web A, which is attached to theframe A and extendsinward for some distance, it being 'ofsuch width as to form supports towhich to attach the side plates of the stock or handle. Owing to thefact that this portion of'the bar A is of the same width as the outerbar of the frame, the plates may be secured thereto without causingthemto be bent or broken bythe screws which secure them.

From the point where the side plates are attached this bar or web isreduced in thickness to enable it to pass between the breech-piece andthe hammcr and hold the carrier and its spring in their properpositions. This frame also forms the guard for the trigger, and toitthebarrel and Fig. l!) is a sect-ion on line a" liaise the magazineare attached, its front portion forming a receiver for the charges whenit is loaded through the receiver, and without drawing out themagazine-tube.

' which is capable of being contracted into a short space, as shown inFig. 2, and of expanding so as to carry backward allof the charges anddeliver them into the carrier, as shown in Fig. 4. The outer end of thistube is provided with a cap for the spring to rest against, and theencircling tube has an aperture through which to insert the charges, asshown in Fig. 23. It also has a portion of its surface slitted, so thatit can be bent outward and form a spring to keep it from moving tooeasily in the tube B, as shown in Fig. 22.

- At theinner endof this tube a guide-pin is placed,

which prevents it from turning while being moved in the tube B and frombeing entirely withdrawn therefrom, the last-named tube being providedwith a groove for the purpose of receivin g said pin. The breech-piece0, being that part of the arm which receives the recoil, is constructedas shown in Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10, or in any other suitable form, itsposition, when the arm'is discharged,- being that shown in Fig. 2, thisbeing its most elevatedposition, it being shown in its lowest or mostdepressed position in Fig. 4, and in its extreme rearward position inFig. 3. The peculiarity of the construction of this piece is that it hasin its'face, or in that portion which bears against the shell of thecartridge when it is in its position in the barrel, a slot for allowingthe point of the hammer to pass through for the purpose of dischargingthe arm, and this slot also serves the further purpose ofpermittin g thecarrier to pass upward sufliciently far to deliver its charge orammunition to the barrel. It will be seen that this breech-piece has twomotions or movements, one in a vertical direction and then anoscillating orpartiallyrotating movement, the vertical movement beingprovided for by a slot, b, in its lower end, or in that portion throughwhich the fulcrum-pin passes. Upon the rear side of this breech-pieceand near its lower end there is formed an inclined plane-or beveledportion, as shown in Fig. 2, it being for the purpose of allowing thestirrup-lever to raise'it into the position shown in Fig. 2 after it hasbeen moved back into the position shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose ofcooking the arm, and again returned to its original position; The lowerportion of this piece is made much thinner than. the upper portion forthe purpose of allowing it to be pivoted upon the same fulcrum with thehammer and yet allow the carrier to ply between them; it may, however,have two downwardly-projecting arms and allow the carrier and the hammerto ply between them. It will be observed that the upper portion of thispiece is of. such form as to fit snugly a slot or space in therecoil-plate of the frame A, so that when in its most elevated positionit will be supported by such frame 'or plate and receive the recoil ofthe discharge and transfer it to the recoil-plate of the frame withoutbeing moved out of its position. i It also has a projectin g thumb-pieceupon it foroperatingit.- This thumb-piece may, however, be placed uponthe side of the breech-piece, or in any other position or place wherethe breech-piece can be operated by it. The construction of the hammerl) is shown in Figs. .18 and 19, where it will be seen that its lowerendis provided with what constitutes a tumbler, to which thestirrup-lever is attached, and also that it is provided with a notchedprojection, into or against which the sear falls to hold it in itscocked position. front portion of this hammer there is a projectingpoint which, in discharging the arm, passes through the slot in thebreech-piece and comes in contact with the rear end of thecartridge-case and causes the contents to be ignited. The projectionupon the lower end of the hammer, which serves as a'tumbler or lever, isslotted to receive the stirrup-lever, as shown in Fig. 11. The trigger Eis shown in Figs. 15, 16, and 17, and consists of a piece of metal,which is pivoted to the frame A, it being cut away upon one ofits sidesso as to receivethe sear E, as'shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the sear beingpivoted to it and so arranged that, asrthe trigger is drawn back for thepurpose of discharging the arm, a shoulder formedthereon shall come incontact with the inner end of said scar and lift it out of the notch oraway from the shoulder of the hammer, and

thus allow the'mainspring to throw the hammer forward. The spring F, towhich the hammer D is connected, has its rear end supported in a grooveformed in the frame A, from which point it extends to and is connectedwith the stirrup F, its front portion being reduced in width to allow itto pass between the breech-piece and the hammer, so that it may be thusconnected.

The stirrup is pivoted to the stirrup-lever at its lower end, and.consequently the mainspring is used as a medium for raising thebreech-piece to its most elevated position as well as for dischargingthe arm. The carrier Grconsists of a thin piece of metal ofsubstantially the form shown in Figs. 2 and 6, its forward end beingbifurcated so as to receive a cartridge, as shown in Fig. 2,

and it also has an arm or spring, G, projecting from'its lower edge atabout the angle shown,

this arm or spring being for the purpose of pressing against thecartridgeor case while it is in the magazine, so that the spring thereinsha not throw the same back at any but the proper time.-

Upon the upper the purpose of receiving the charges and carrying themnpto the proper position to be inserted into the barrel, as the carriercannot be thus depressed while acharge remains in the receiver below it;and in order that it may give the proper direction to the charge orammunition the upper surface of the lower portion of the receiver, orthat arm of it which is next to spring G, is made convex or with adouble-inclined surface, as shown, so that the ammunition or charge mayassume a horizontal position when brought opposite to the aperture inthe barrel. The rear end of this carrier is of the form shown, it havingupon its rear end the double-beveled or V- shaped formation, theobjectof which is to provide the means ofelevat-in g the front end ofthe carrier when the breech-piece is moved backward, this bein geffected by means of a pin, a, passedthrou gh it or by a projectionformed upon its inner surface, which is to be soa-rranged that whensaidbreech-piece is drawn or forced back said pin or projection shallbear'upon the beveled surface of the carrier and raise its front endinto the proper position to bring the cartridge into a position to beforced into the barrel. Forward of the pivotal point of the carrierthere is another beveled surface or inclined plane, formed by the upperarm of the carrier, against which the pin or projection upon thebreech-piece bears when said breech-piece moves forward, and whichdepresses the forward end of the carrier so that it is out of the way ofthe hammer as it is forced forward to discharge the arm.

It will be seen that the construction of the carrier is such that whenits front end is in its most elevated position the lower arm G thereofbears upon the rear end of the case nextto it in the magazine andprevents it from being pushed lmelnvard, which, if allowed to occur,would prevent the carrier from being returned to its proper position forreceiving another charge, which it does when in its lowest or mostdepressed position, the charge while in the carrier preventing those inadvance of it from being pushed backward, until, by again elevating thecarrier, its lower arm comes in contact with it and holds it, as abovedescribed.

To withdraw the metal case from the barrel, a retractor, H, isprovided,'which slides in a groove formed in the frame or handle A, asshown in Fig. 5. This retractor may consist of a thin piece of metal,itsfront end being split, as shown in Fig. 7, so that one portion may actas a spring for keeping it in its. place, while the other portion isprovided with ahook or projection, which, when the breech-piece is inthe position shown in Fig. 2, passes in by and engages the flange uponthe metal case which contains the charge, and thus withdraws it when thebreech-piece is carried to the positionshown in Fig. 3, in doing whichthe front end of the carrier is suddenly elevated and the case is thrownout as represented in that figure. This retractor is operated by thebreechpiece, there being a recess in its side, as shown in Fig. 20, forthe purpose of receiving'aprojection upon the face of the retractor.When the .parts are inthe proper position the inner surface of thebreech-piece is in contact with the retractor, which holds it in itsgroove, its projection order hat the retractor may move in a straightline while that portion of the breech-piece to which it is attached ismoving through the arc of a circle the recess in the breech-pieceis'made larger than the projection upon the retractor, so as to allowfor the change'of position necessary for such movements; and it is alsoof such form as'to permit of thevertical movement of the breech-piecewithout imparting such motion to the retractor.

The operation of this arm is as follows: The parts having beenconstructed substantially as described and placed in the positions shownin Figs. 1 and 2, the first operation is todepress the breech-piece bypressing with the thumb upon the thumb-piece, the slot in its lower endpermitting it to pass down in a vertical line far enough to permit itsupper surface to pass beneath the recoil-plate of frame A. -When thishas been done, and while the thumb is upon the-breech-piece,

and the index-finger is upon the trigger,--the breech-piece is pushedback into the position shown in Fig. 3, which opera-tion carries backthehammer also to its cocked position. When in consequence of the forceexerted upon the breechpiece through the mainspring acting upon thestirrup-lev'enthe moment the pressure of the thumb is released thebreech-piece is carried forward, and when it arrives at its properposition it is carried upward bylneans of the stirrup-lever acting uponthe inclined surface upon its rear edge and is permanently lockedagainst the recoil-plate. Should the action of the spring at any timeprove insuflicient for causing the upward movement of the breech-piecethe projection upon its front edge will be in contact with aprojectingpoint upon the trigger, and a slight pressure thereon willcarry it up to itsproperposition, and although some of the force of themainspring has been expended in thus moving the breech-piece there willstill be enough left in it to carry forward the hammer with sufiicientforce to cause the discharge of the arm. When the breech-piece has beenreturned to the position fromwhich it started, pressure is applied tothe trigger by means of the finger, which will carry itsrear endbackward, and the shoulder upon its upper end will come in contact withthe scar and raise it soas to release it from its-control of the hammer,which will at once be thrown forward, and its projecting pointwill passthrough the slot in the breech-piece and against the case which containsthe charge, and will cause its contents to be ignited. Should the hammerat any time or by any means he released from the control of the searbefore the breech-piece has been .returned to its most elevated positionthe arm could not be discharged for'the reason that the point ofthehammer could not project through the breech-piece far enough to comein contact with the case containing the explosive substance. For thisreason the arm is rendered a very safe one, and can only be dischargedwhen all of the I I parts have been returned to their proper positionsby the operator.

In loading this arm the telescopic tube which constitutes the magazinemay be withdrawn far plate of the handle and bears upon a spring on itsinner surface, the pin and springbeing so arranged that by pressing uponthe outer end of said pin its inner end will come in contact with thebreech-piece and hold it in the position shown whilethe charges arebeing inserted; after which by pulling the breech-piece back slightlythe spring will throw the pin outward and the breechpiece will passforward to its vertical position. In either case they will be taken bythecarrier when its forward end is in its depressed position, and whenthebreech-piece is carried backward, so that, as its forward end iselevated, it will carry the charge up to the proper position, when, asthe bnwch-piece is again returned, it will, in the act of being thusreturned, take the same from the carrier and force it into the barrel;and this operation will be repeated as often as the breech-piece has thenecessary movements imparted to it.

I have shown my improvements only as applied to a pocket-pistol, andhave described them in connection with such a pistol, but it is evidentthat they are equally applicable to other types of pistols and to otherforms of fire-arms, and

I wish it to be understood that I do not limit my improvements to theirapplication to any particular form or character of arms, but reserve theright to apply them to all forms to which they are applicable.

In using the term breech-piece in the following claims I intend to limitthe meaning of the term to include only a breech-piece which is separatefrom and operated independently of the hammer, and not to include thosecases in which one piece performs the double function ofa breech-pieceand hammer. g I

What I claim as my improvement in magazine fire-arms, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent,

1. In combination, a magazine, a carrier for transferring the cartridgefrom the magazine to the barrel, and a breech-piece and hammer arrangedto operate at one movement by means of a thumb-piece, substantially asset forth.

2. In combination with a magazine and breechpiece and hammer arranged tooperate at one movement by means of a thumb-piece, a carrier, whichtransfers a cartridgefrom the magazine to the barrel,"and at the sametime expels the shell. of the discharged cartridge, substantially as setforth. r

3-. A breech-piece, constructed'with a slot or recess, combined with andarranged to receive the carrier, and also the hammer, substantially asset forth.

4. A breech-piece, which has both a verticallyreciprocating andoscillatory motion, and provided with a thumb-piece, by which. itisopcrated from above, in combination, in a magazine arm, with thecarrier, substantially as set forth.

5. In combination with arecessed breech-piece, a thin carrier, arrangedto be received in the recess in. and opera-ted by the breech'piece',substantially as set forth.

6, In combination, the breech-piece and'a carrier, constructed with twobeveled surfaces for throwing up the carrier withthc backward movementof the breech-piece, and throwing it down. with the forward movement ofthe same, substantially as set forth.

7. A carrier, constructed with a recess to receive the cartridgefrom-the magazine, and an arm or spring to bear against the base of thecartridge remaining in the magazine when the carrier is thrown up, andalso to permit the charges to be inserted tl'irough the receiver and.hold them in position in the magazine after they are thus inserted,substantially as set-forth- 8. In combination with the retractor, abreechpiece having a recess to receive a pin on the retractor, and admitof the two movementsof the breech-piece, substantially as set forth.

9. A breech-piece, constructed with a beveled surface, acting incombination with the stirruplever and spring to raise the breech-piece,substantially as set forth.

10. In combination with the breech-piece O and hammer, a spring, whichis arranged to perform the double function of raising the breechpieceand bringing down the hammer, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of the spring-stirrup, and stirrup-lever with thetumbler, pivoted in relation to each other, substantially as set forth.

12. The arrangement of the projections upon the trigger and breech-piecein such relation to each other that the breech-piece may be raised bythepositive action of the trigger, substantially as set forth.

1.3. The breech-piece trigger and sear, arranged as shown in relation toeach other, so that the former cannot act-upon the latter until thebreeclr piece has been raised to its proper position for the explosionof the cartridge, substantially as set forth.

14. The arrangement of the exploding-pin or point on the face of thehammer in such relation to the hole in the head of thevertically-reciprocating and oscillating breech-piece, through which theformer soacts on the fulminate that the pinor point cannot be brought incontact with the cartridge unless the breech-piece is raised to itsproper position, substantially as set forth.

15. A trigger, constructed with a recess to receive the carrier, and incombination therewith,

substantially as set forth.

16. A web, A, constructed substantially as described, to support theplates of the handle and the carrier, and at the same time soas not tointerfere with the action of the breech-piece and hammer, and used incombination therewith, substantially as set forth. I

17. In combination, with a magazine fire-arm, the carrier G, the uppersurface of the lower arm of which, or of the arm which is next to theswing, has a convex-0r double-beveled surface for allowing the charge toassume a horizontal position when brought opposite to the aperture inthe barrel, substantially as shown.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the)resenee of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

D. P. HOLLOWAY, B. EDW. J. EILs.

JOSEPH ELDER.

